Tuesday, February 25, 2014

CD REVIEW: STANDARD DEVIATION

By day, she is a successful lawyer.By night, she is a jazz diva.Jordana Talsky has nonetheless come a long
way since when I first jammed with her during the Rex days.

On her debut album, it is an all-star affair packed with
clever arrangements and full of soul and depth.It is evident upon hearing the first track,
a funky jazz take on the 80’s classic “Black Velvet”, opened with a beatbox
into that sets up the rhythm perfectly.

“Murder By Numbers” is a nice 12/8 set up before going into
4/4 shuffle, making this STING classic a very hipster number.Old Devil Moon is given the latin treatment,
which happens to be one of the highlights of this stellar recording.At the same time, the highlight goes to “Devil
May Care”, which is a moody, funky, soulful take on a Bob Dorough jazz
standard.

Upon hearing this record, Jordana has a very clear as
crystal voice combined with a personality that is bubbly like a fine
champagne.I enjoyed it so much I can
say that this debut record would make a spot on one of the Canadian jazz albums
of the year.